Intrepid Ormskirk cyclist Grant Crawley loves a sporting challenge. For Grant, pedalling from London to Paris last July for UK charity Action Medical Research was not enough. This year he has signed up to the 100 mile Bristol to London cycle event known as the Action 100 Bike Ride – and it’s not just the challenge of a lifetime, but an investment in his medical future.

Grant, 35, suffers from the debilitating Multifocal Motor Neuropathy with Conduction Block, which means that his immune system attacks his own motor neurones, disabling the transmission of messages from his brain to his limbs. He hopes that Action Medical Research, the charity behind the bike ride, may one day find a cure for his condition and others like it.

Grant is passionate about the work of Action Medical Research, which is currently funding research into neurological conditions and many other disabling diseases. The charity’s work is wide-ranging and recent research has resulted in several important breakthroughs, such as finding a link between childhood diet and exercise and reducing the risk of osteoporosis, as well as a special diet for children with severe liver disease.

Grant is among the first to sign up for the 2006 Action 100 Bike Ride, which challenges hundreds of sponsored participants to spend August bank holiday cycling from Bristol to London in aid of its trailblazing research. Not one to let anything stop his training, Grant also has to negotiate his cycling schedule around his bi-monthly chemotherapy, which often keeps him from his beloved bike for weeks at a time, making his decision to cycle the Action 100 ride even more inspiring. Grant receives his treatment at The Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Fazakerley, Liverpool, which he describes as “nothing short of excellent.”

As well as Action 100 in August 2006, Grant also aims to undertake the 100 mile Castle Challenge Bike Ride on Sunday 7th May this year, which starts at Tonbridge Castle and progresses past Rochester, Upnor, Leeds, Sissinghurst and Scotney castles. Buoyant Grant maintains a very upbeat outlook: “I am fortunate that I can still ride a bicycle because the condition has not yet damaged my leg muscles - it’s really a case of now or possibly never.”

Those inspired by Grant’s story can pledge their support at www.grantcrawley.com, and to sign up for your 2006 challenge, log on to the bike ride website on www.action100ride.org.uk and support a charity dedicated to building a healthier future for everyone.
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